In recent years, massively multiplayer online (“MMO”) computer applications, such as massively multiplayer online role-playing games (“MMORPGs”), have become extremely popular not only with serious gamers, but also with casual gamers and other Internet users. One example of a MMO computer application enables a participant to create and develop a fictional character in a virtual world. The fictional character is usually associated with an avatar or some other visual representation that enables other participants to recognize the particular fictional character. A given participant may develop, among other things, a storyline, a reputation, and attributes of her fictional character by interacting in the virtual world via the fictional character. Other examples of MMO computer applications may not involve the creation of a virtual world representation of the participant.
The virtual world typically includes an environment with a variety of virtual locations containing a variety of virtual objects. In some cases, the virtual locations and the virtual objects mimic realistic locations and objects, while in other cases, the virtual locations and virtual objects are fanciful creations. MMO computer applications generally permit the fictional character to travel across the virtual locations and interact with the virtual objects and other fictional characters.
A virtual world is typically provided across multiple client computers coupled to at least one server computer. The server computer may be configured to manage the virtual world and the interactions with the virtual world made by the client computers. Thus, the performance of the virtual world may be heavily dependent on the performance of the server computer and the communications network between the server computer and the client computers. In this regard, virtual world providers have conventionally allocated significant resources to upgrading server computers and the communications network.
While upgrading the server computers and the communications network may improve the performance of the virtual world, one often overlooked aspect is the performance of the client computers. In some cases, a virtual world provider may provide a short list of system preferences or minimum system requirements that the client computers are supposed to meet prior to accessing the virtual world. For example, the system preferences/requirements may specify a desired or minimum processor speed, memory size, network connection speed, and the like.
If the system preferences/requirements are initially met by a client computer, a virtual world provider should not subsequently impose additional hardware requirements for a client computer to access and utilize the virtual world. A significant drawback with this approach is that the virtual world provider may have no additional control or feedback over the performance requirements for the client computers. Thus, the virtual world provider may be unable to address performance issues (e.g., excessive processor load) that later arise on the client computer and negatively affect the performance of the virtual world. This might occur, for instance, if the virtual world provider releases a more performance demanding version of the virtual world at a time subsequent to when a client computer initially meets the minimum performance requirements.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.